3 minute read

Jody McLaughlin is no beginner when it comes to horses, a seasoned professional in the thoroughbred racing industry, but on Saturday night she made claimed her first win in the trots with Bonsco Circus winning at just his second start for the stable.

The dual registered 53-year-old said the decision to get her standardbred licence was an easy one with her partner Ash Fairhurst and Ross Waddell breeding the now five-year-old.

The troublesome horse has done plenty wrong in his short career, but on Saturday night he was on his best behaviour, coming from behind to win by a comfortable 6.7m margin in 2:03:3 over the 2503m trip.

"Ross asked did I want to have a little try with him, he obviously liked to have a little gallop, so we've just done some different things with him at home."

Ashley Fairhurst, who used to be a driver himself still has shares in a few pacers floating around the place, so this isn't just a stint for Jody Mc Laughlin, who confirmed that the pair have a filly that is related to Bonsco Circus that she will likely train as well.

The standardbred naturally boasts a laid-back nature, but McLaughlin has the exception to the rule, with Bonsco Circus leaning towards more of a highly strung thoroughbred nature in her opinion and she has the war wounds to prove it, with the five-year-old landing on her foot one day in the wash down bay and breaking her foot.

"His temperament is pretty much like a stressy galloper,

"he's a bit of a worrier and a bit anxious, hence why if the mobile doesn't shift off quick enough, he will gallop.

"I've obviously ridden a lot of trotters that are really cool and laid back but he's not one of them."

Training from her property in Karnup, McLaughlin has had a long association in the industry in the background, with Michael Brennan once training from her property, she recalls a time when he broke his ribs in one of the charity football matches, and she was riding around eight of the horses every morning for about three weeks.

With no clear favourite between the two codes, McLaughlin really does believe a horse is a horse and she just loves them, with her early life spent driving wedding carriages and horses at El Caballo Blanco.

"I love it, I mean it's the same principals, the trotters probably do a little more leg work than the gallopers but it's the sane principal, get them fit, get them happy, and hopefully you get the results on race day,

"I've always done gallopers, but I wouldn't say I enjoy them more, a horse is a horse, obviously doing a trotter was a challenge fitness wise,

"We had to work out with him galloping how to get inside of his head and what was making him gallop, which was more of a stress thing, so getting him past that."

Mclaughlin currently has five gallopers and just the one pacer in work currently, but entering the new code was a real eye opener, with McLaughlin laughing that she had to head to the shops on Saturday morning to purchase the biggest suitcase on wheels to get all the gear to Bunbury.

Bonsco Circus is likely to head to Narrogin to race in the coming weeks with hopes that he will go through the grades before eventually heading to Gloucester Park to race.